Doha: Popular US Ryder Cup star and world number nine Kenny Perry will play for the first time in the Middle East next month with an exclusive appearance at the 2010 Commercialbank Qatar Masters, presented by Dolphin Energy.
Next year will mark the thirteenth staging of the tournament, which will take place at Doha Golf Club from January 28 to 31.
“I am extremely excited about competing in next year’s Commercialbank Qatar Masters,” Perry said.
“I know it is going to be a great experience for me and my family.”
Perry, the 2009 Masters runner-up, comes to Doha following two of the best years of his career – two years that saw him win five tournaments and climb into the world’s top ten achieving a career high of world number four. He also won an army of new followers thanks to his sportsmanship and dignity following a play-off defeat to Angel Cabrera at the Masters earlier this year.
“Kenny Perry is widely recognised not only as a great golfer but also as a true gentleman and a great golfing ambassador,” said Hassan Al Nuami, President of the Qatar Golf Association (QGA), hosts of the tournament in association with the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and title sponsors Commercialbank.
“We are delighted he has decided to follow in the footsteps of many other great American players who have played at Doha Golf Club, players such as Chris DiMarco, Brandt Snedeker and Boo Weekley who all agreed that golf in Qatar is a memorable experience.”
Although the Commercialbank Qatar Masters, Presented by Dolphin Energy, has a reputation for attracting the world’s best golfers, no US player has ever lifted the stunning Mother of Pearl trophy. It certainly would not be surprising, however, if Perry becomes the first American to leave Qatar with a victory. He has amassed fourteen PGA Tour victories and is currently eighth on the PGA Tour career money list.
In addition to Perry’s achievements on the course, he has also won the Charles Bartlett Award, given each year to a professional golfer for his unselfish contributions to the betterment of society, and was this year’s recipient of the Payne Stewart Award.
Perry has donated five percent of his career PGA Tour earnings to a scholarship fund for David Lipscomb University, and he took out a loan in 1996 to build Kenny Perry’s Country Creek Golf Course, an 18-hole public course in his hometown of Franklin, Kentucky. Perry built the course just so people in his hometown could have an affordable place to play golf – green fees remain just $28 for eighteen holes.
“Kenny Perry is yet another player in the world’s top ten committed to playing in Qatar next year,” said Commercialbank Group CEO Andrew Stevens.
“Part of the excitement for golf fans in this part of the world is seeing which big name player will be next to discover why the game is flourishing in the region. I am proud that Kenny has chosen Doha to make his only Gulf appearance in 2010 at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters, Presented by Dolphin Energy.”
Meanwhile, Colombian superstar golfer Camilo Villegas, one of the sport’s hottest young players, is the latest big name to confirm his appearance at the 2010 Commercialbank Qatar Masters.
Known as ‘Spiderman’ for his signature pre-putting routine, the world No. 22 is one of the most charismatic players in the world and fans in Qatar can find out why he has become Colombia’s biggest sports star when he makes his Doha debut at Doha Golf Club next month.
Villegas’ confirmation that he will tee it up in the thirteenth staging of Qatar’s premier sporting event is a major boost for the organisers and comes quickly after the news that world number nine Perry of the US will also join a field that includes defending champion Alvaro Quiros and fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia.
“While Camilo is a regular on the US PGA TOUR where he has won twice, we are delighted to see that he is planning more appearances on the European Tour, including the Commercialbank Qatar Masters, presented by Dolphin Energy,” said Al Nuami.
A natural big hitter, the 27 year-old Colombian may well find the challenge of the Doha course to his liking following recent victories by fellow power players such as Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott and 2009 champion Quiros. “Camilo Villegas is a player with massive international appeal so naturally we are pleased to have him in our line up for 2010,” said Commercialbank Group CEO Stevens.
“With Kenny Perry, Sergio Garcia and now Camilo, we are adding to the star quality of the field all the time, while our defending champion is one of the hottest young talents on the European Tour.
“In the coming weeks, we expect to announce one or two more star names for what is sure to be one of the strongest fields in the history of the event.”
The Peninsula Online
